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4:19 am
June 10, 2011
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QuoteHey guys,
I just logged onto my squeeze page http://www.gregparkemusic.com just to check things, and my page starts to load, and then re-directs to another page selling shoes. I check my info with GoDaddy where the domain name is registered, and my info looks right. Any ideas what I should do next?
What would a jam session with Gordon Lightfoot, Collective Soul, and Damien Rice sound like?
Check out Greg Parke and you’ll have a pretty good idea!
Wow, I've never seen or heard of that. Your hosting or FTP info has obviously been compromised. At least I would think that is what's happened. First thing to do is contact your host and see what they say.
It's likely that if you download the template from your host and open up the html of the index file and run a control F for the domain that it is redirecting to you will see the code that is causing it. The problem with just deleting it is that there is the possibility that there is other malicious code in there.
You could always go to a site like scriptlance and pay someone to solve it for you. I would think it would be pretty cheap. But do talk to your host first. My guess is that they can help. My host has helped me with bugs in my code in the past.
Having trouble with your marketing? Wish you could have an experienced direct-to-fan marketing expert look over your actual campaigns, music, or content and offer feedback? Or perhaps you’re just looking for a little one-on-one assistance so you can ask questions that pertain to your specific goals and get a second, more experienced, perspective? Click here to book a session with me now.
6:06 am
June 10, 2011
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Thanks John. I contacted GoDaddy and they suggested the same thing.....check with my hosting company and have them look into the Index File or HT Access File. My squeeze page was working fine until the last day or two.
What would a jam session with Gordon Lightfoot, Collective Soul, and Damien Rice sound like?
Check out Greg Parke and you’ll have a pretty good idea!
12:34 pm
June 9, 2011
Offline
Yeah I've never heard of this one either. Which hosting company are you using, if you wouldn't mind sharing? Sorry this happened to you.
Stay the course though man. My journey with internet marketing has been wrought with glitches, headaches and technical difficulties. Shit like this actually helps you sharpen your skills and ultimately refine your system.
Shame it happens to guys who take massive action like you do, but it will happen.
Good luck with it.
-Steve
By the way, a possible quick solution Greg,
If you still have the site files on your hard drive, just upload everything to your server again (replacing the files in the process). That actually might fix everything. Then go and change your password to your host. You might also consider deleting all of your hosted files first in case there is some malicious code in there.
Having trouble with your marketing? Wish you could have an experienced direct-to-fan marketing expert look over your actual campaigns, music, or content and offer feedback? Or perhaps you’re just looking for a little one-on-one assistance so you can ask questions that pertain to your specific goals and get a second, more experienced, perspective? Click here to book a session with me now.
4:53 pm
June 9, 2011
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Something I just thought of too…
This may not be the issue, but when you have interactive elements on a webpage (ie opt-in forms) there is always the possibility of someone "injecting" malicious code into your forms.
I don't know how it it done to be descriptive, but the small of it is that they can run a XSS (cross site scripting) to redirect people to a spam website. However this is usually when you are using some sort of server based dynamic content (php) or browser based dynamic content (javascript) instead of static html.
So in the case that your squeeze page has a .php extention (squeeze.php) instead of .html, .htm you may be at risk unless you have proper coding in a php script to "cleanse" the form fields upon submission. Another reason this is happening is because someone hijacked any javascript cookies that might be used on your site.
In this scenario your squeeze page will be served up to the browser, but the malicious script will be executed once there and then the browser is redirected to the hijacker's website (by stealing the cookies).
I doubt you have a .php extension, but if you do, you can remedy this by copying the contents of the squeeze page, create a new html file and paste the code in and replace it on your website.
If cross site scripting is the issue, this should eliminate it. (however it will also eliminate any fancy php scripting too, but that's not important now).
Probably not your problem… just throwing it out there.
-Steve
6:49 pm
June 10, 2011
Offline
Hey thanks John and Steve for all the info...the good news is that my squeeze page is back! Sure enough, some asshole hackers got into the HTML where my sites are hosted and re-directed to a different site, and probably went looking for credit card info too. I'll have to look further into that I guess. My hosting company is Hostbaby, but I plan on switching to Dreamhost as soon as I find the right software to build my new website. I like the great phone support from Hostbaby, but they charge me $20 for my website, and $10 for my squeeze page.....$30 per month! I can see having more sites and definitely more squeeze pages in the future, so Hostbaby is getting way to expensive!
One thing we probably all need to think about from time to time............computers are getting faster and faster, hackers are getting very tech savvy, and passwords that were strong enough in the past are getting weaker every day. I have set up many new accounts in the past few months in connection with MMM2.0, using the same password for most of them that I have used in the past with no problems. Yesterday I tried to open another account using my old reliable password, and wasn't able to use it. It was rejected because it was too weak!
I used a different password for my account that got hacked, but I was told that's how the hackers got in. They most likely used a powerful computer to try hundreds of thousands of different letter combinations until one matched my password. No problem! Now that I understand things a bit more, I'll come up with a password that will make the hackers give up and move on. It's usually pretty easy to beat lowlifes at their own game!
What would a jam session with Gordon Lightfoot, Collective Soul, and Damien Rice sound like?
Check out Greg Parke and you’ll have a pretty good idea!
6:54 pm
June 10, 2011
Offline
Well whadayaknow!!! In the time it took me to write the last post, three new people signed up through my squeeze page! You hackers can go kiss my ass!
What would a jam session with Gordon Lightfoot, Collective Soul, and Damien Rice sound like?
Check out Greg Parke and you’ll have a pretty good idea!
10:45 pm
June 7, 2011
Offline
That's awesome Greg!
Having trouble with your marketing? Wish you could have an experienced direct-to-fan marketing expert look over your actual campaigns, music, or content and offer feedback? Or perhaps you’re just looking for a little one-on-one assistance so you can ask questions that pertain to your specific goals and get a second, more experienced, perspective? Click here to book a session with me now.
5:52 am
June 11, 2011
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Glad you got your squeeze page back Greg.
I have a question regarding my website and my Squeeze Page that I'm currently developing.
I was with HostBaby for a trial but didn't like their lax email customer service and one or two other things. I'm now using Wix.Com as my host. I've put many many hours into developing my Wix website and I've taken out a yearly plan so I'm fairly committed. Everything is in "Flash with their HTML only in Beta and not to be relied on. The pros to being in Flash is that things can look good or "flash' as the saying goes. The negatives as I've been discovering can be slow loading of pages or a critical button like the ENTER button for instance not appearing or some users not having Flash player in their browsers or upgraded.
Anyway, I'm interested in your feedback on,
(A) whether I've made the most stupid decision I could have to go with Flash or whether it should be okay moving forward?
But mostly I want feedback on the following:
(B) I need to hook into a "Download" & "Payment Processor" from my Squeeze Page. The download needs to include my 4 x song EP together with 5 x images of Cover Art (ie: a zip file or similar). Payment needs to be in Australian dollars and/or preferably have currency conversion for international purchase. Also, there needs to be minimal transaction costs for doing this as my Special Offer really is Special and there is a minimal margin to pay associated costs. I'm currently testing Vibedeck.Com which has a good offering along these lines but unfortunately I've had some file upload issues with them and they won't tag MP3's with ISRC's etc.
Anyway, Please let me know ASAP if you know of something?
Thanks, 
If my post has been helpful or informative or whatever, please Leave A Comment in the comment box on the Home page or the Connect page of my new website. I will reciprocate. web: http://www.tommyroberts.org
3:44 pm
June 10, 2011
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Hi Tommy,
I'm still with Hostbaby, but plan on changing soon. The main reason I have stayed with them for so long was because of their absolutely outstanding telephone support. I never tried their email support, but I can see where that would be an issue with you being in a different country. The cost of the telephone call would pretty much rule out phone support. I am changing because of the cost. They charge $20 a month for my website, and another $10 for my squeeze page. Ouch!
As far as a Download and Payment processor from your squeeze page........If it were me, I would only use my squeeze page to get people to sign up and get their free track. I wouldn't try to sell them anything from my squeeze page. After they are signed up, then I would lure them to my website and try to sell them more CD's, Vids, T-shirts, my old guitar picks....whatever! PayPal is a very reputable online payment service that seems to be very well known and trusted by the online community. It is very easy to intigrate a paypal payment button into your webpages where you are trying to sell from.
Hope this helps!
What would a jam session with Gordon Lightfoot, Collective Soul, and Damien Rice sound like?
Check out Greg Parke and you’ll have a pretty good idea!
4:20 pm
June 9, 2011
Offline
Tommy,
I would say absolutely not for flash! Here's why.
Plain and simply, search engines cannot watch or interpret flash. This means your most targeted and free traffic source goes right out the window.
When a search engine crawls your site, they may be able to identify a flash object as being a flash object, but it cannot interpret the contents of that flash object. (it can't watch videos, it can't interpret audio as having any semantic relevance, etc.)
It can identify links, meta contents, titles and such, but those are only part of the SEO process. The rest comes down to human interaction. People may think your flash website is cool, but this is exactly why the MMM approach advises using an "ugly" webpage vs. a full-blown, super fancy website.
For instance, the search engine can read the heading "Tommy Roberts, rock n' roll hero" but it can't watch a flash video that says the same thing.
Not to mention, most people use internet explorer and in most cases that stupid yellow bar appears on top of the page that says, "this website would like to enable flash" or something to that effect. And you can't count on somebody even seeing that, let alone clicking to ok it. This means none of your flash content will even show up.
Take as many variables out of the equation as you can. Stick with simple html and test what is working before you spend a ton of time getting fancy.
Personally, I use bluehost. I'm quite happy with their service and customer service.
-Steve
6:04 pm
June 9, 2011
Offline
Also,
For payment and download... Paypal is a good option for payment. You can set it to Aussie dollars and it should do the conversions for you. After payment is made it will redirect the buyer back to your website where you can have a download page with a zip file of the product.
Hope that helps
7:44 pm
June 11, 2011
Offline
Thanks for getting back to me guys. Yes, PayPal seems like the way to go.
Steve, I can see you're correct, damned you! 
I didn't want to hear the truth on this because of all my investment of time and labour and as I say I have a yearly host plan. Yes, Steve you have confirmed my suspicions about it. Damned!
Okay, I might check out your bluehost. Thanks for the heads up!
If my post has been helpful or informative or whatever, please Leave A Comment in the comment box on the Home page or the Connect page of my new website. I will reciprocate. web: http://www.tommyroberts.org
7:54 pm
June 9, 2011
Offline
My pleasure, Tommy.
That's why this mastermind group is so invaluable. If I (or anyone else) can short-cut your learning curve then it's all worth while. It sucks to have to find this shit out the hard way. Especially when you are as passionate as you are about this. Wouldn't want you to get defeated and god forbid, give up.
There are a lot of reputable hosts out there. Bluehost, host gator, hostmonster and a slew of others.
Just as a personal preference, I only use flash for video, because it's obvious to the viewer that there is supposed to be something there in that big, blank box. 
Thanks for damning me 
lol!
-Steve
12:13 am
June 10, 2011
Offline
Yeah, Steve.....you can add me to the "Damn you" list too! Thanks for all your contributions to this forum.
What would a jam session with Gordon Lightfoot, Collective Soul, and Damien Rice sound like?
Check out Greg Parke and you’ll have a pretty good idea!
1:54 am
June 9, 2011
Offline
Lol. My first full length album was titled "The Damnedest Thing". Looks like the chickens have come home to roost.
8:31 pm
June 7, 2011
Offline
tommy roberts said:
Glad you got your squeeze page back Greg.
I have a question regarding my website and my Squeeze Page that I'm currently developing.
I was with HostBaby for a trial but didn't like their lax email customer service and one or two other things. I'm now using Wix.Com as my host. I've put many many hours into developing my Wix website and I've taken out a yearly plan so I'm fairly committed. Everything is in "Flash with their HTML only in Beta and not to be relied on. The pros to being in Flash is that things can look good or "flash' as the saying goes. The negatives as I've been discovering can be slow loading of pages or a critical button like the ENTER button for instance not appearing or some users not having Flash player in their browsers or upgraded.
Anyway, I'm interested in your feedback on,
(A) whether I've made the most stupid decision I could have to go with Flash or whether it should be okay moving forward?
But mostly I want feedback on the following:
(B) I need to hook into a "Download" & "Payment Processor" from my Squeeze Page. The download needs to include my 4 x song EP together with 5 x images of Cover Art (ie: a zip file or similar). Payment needs to be in Australian dollars and/or preferably have currency conversion for international purchase. Also, there needs to be minimal transaction costs for doing this as my Special Offer really is Special and there is a minimal margin to pay associated costs. I'm currently testing Vibedeck.Com which has a good offering along these lines but unfortunately I've had some file upload issues with them and they won't tag MP3's with ISRC's etc.
Anyway, Please let me know ASAP if you know of something?
Thanks,
Hey Tommy,
Looks like everyone has you covered already, but for whatever it's worth I agree with Steve and Greg. Flash doesn't help anything. It's bad when it comes to SEO, there are load issues, and it typically hurts conversion rates, despite the fact that if you surveyed a group of people typically they would all say they liked the flash site best.
Paypal is the easiest way to go in terms of a processor, and they also have a service called Pay Flow Pro which offers the ability to integrate with various shopping carts so your customers never need to know they have left your site. They also offer a V terminal which can come in handy at times.
I also agree with Greg. I wouldn't be trying to sell from the squeeze page. The squeeze page is just there to get people on to your list. You can sell from other platforms later.
Keep us posted on how it all goes.
Having trouble with your marketing? Wish you could have an experienced direct-to-fan marketing expert look over your actual campaigns, music, or content and offer feedback? Or perhaps you’re just looking for a little one-on-one assistance so you can ask questions that pertain to your specific goals and get a second, more experienced, perspective? Click here to book a session with me now.
4:11 am
June 10, 2011
Offline
Hey guys,
I can't find the post where I tried to warn everybody about a ripoff con artist named "Ty Cohen", AKA "Music Biz Center" AKA "Platinum Millenium Publishing", but I wanted to give you all an update.
I originally ordered a downloadable publication from him for $9.97. It was nothing but a come on scam to buy more useless info, so I requested my money back, as outlined in the original purchase agreement. I also followed all the required steps to have him stop sending me any more emails, as he was flooding my inbox with junk.
Not only did he not refund my money, he also took 2 more additional unauthorized withdrawals from my bank account using my debit card number, and continued to send me even more spam email. I had to cancel my debit card to prevent him from stealing any more money from my account.
After several emails, he sent me an email stateing he would refund my money. He also acknowledged that I requested him to stop sending any more emails. I knew I was dealing with a sleeze ball, so I started a special folder in my email, where I saved all emails from him. He never returned my money, and the spam emails continued.
Now the good part! Several months later, I now have over 140 emails from him on file, all recieved after I recieved his email acknowledging that I requested that he stop sending me emails. A week ago, I sent him another email, again requesting that he return my money, and also sent him a link to the Can Spam act, that allows for fines of up to $1700.00 per email sent in violation of the act. I gave him 2 days to respond, including a warning that my next step was to register a formal consumer complaint with the Washington State Attorney General, and also file a formal complaint regarding the Can Spam act. 140 emails, at a possible $1700 fine each..........that would make me nervous!
He didn't respond, so I followed through with my threat, and filed a formal complaint with the Attorney General. The same day the Attorney General's office contacted him, he responded to the Attorney General's letter asking how he could return my money. I sent him a PayPal invoice, and within 5 minutes I got all my money back! I seriously doubt that I will get any more emails from this dirt bag either!
Just goes to show, that sometimes you can win!
What would a jam session with Gordon Lightfoot, Collective Soul, and Damien Rice sound like?
Check out Greg Parke and you’ll have a pretty good idea!
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